Miscarriages: It's no one's fault!

One in four pregnancies end in miscarriage, which is a difficult time both emotionally and physically.
If you've had a Miscarriage, be sure that it didn't just happen to you. Miscarriage is the most common complication of pregnancy: 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage. Many women or couples who have experienced one or more miscarriages ask, 'Why did this happen to me?' , 'What did we do wrong?'.
Miscarriage is both emotionally and physically diffucult to deal with. For many women and couples miscariages are much more difficult. Stress at work, arguing with your husband, or lifting something heavy did not cause the miscarriage. The miscarriage didn't happen, whether or not you wanted to have a baby. These wrong thoughts lead to unwarranted feelings of self-blame and guilt.

So why do miscarriages happen?

When a woman miscarries once or twice, it's usually because the fetus has the wrong number of chromosomes, this genetic material telling our cells what to do. Normally, we get 23 chromosomes from each parent, resulting in a normal number of 46 chromosomes. Sometimes the fetus may have too many or too few chromosomes, which is almost never compatible with life. The error that causes too many or too few chromosomes occurs during the formation of the egg or sperm or early embryo. In fact, miscarriage occurs as a result of a healthy woman's body trying to prevent an unhealthy baby. This diagnosis can be confirmed by genetic testing of the pregnancy material. Recurrent miscarriages or habitual abortion, is historically defined as 3 consecutive pregnancy losses prior to 20 weeks from the last menstrual period. In cases of recurrent miscarriage, the causes can be much more complex and difficult to identify. In order for a pregnancy to continue successfully, all systems in the body must work properly. For example, the uterus must have the appropriate structure; Fibroids, polyps, or having a septum (known as a septum) can cause miscarriage. Hormone levels should be normal; Problems such as diabetes or thyroid disease can cause miscarriage. Blood clotting problems are the causes of miscarriage.

The mother's immune system plays an important role in pregnancy, and malfunctioning of the mother's immune system leads to recurrent miscarriages. During pregnancy, the mother's immune system must accept the fetus and avoid rejecting it. However, we do not yet know enough about how the immune system achieves this. Blood tests to diagnose immune system diseases have not stood up to rigorous research. Many empirical treatments such as steroids or IVIg (intravenous antibody administration) have been tried in the treatment of immune system diseases, but these have been shown to be largely ineffective or even harmful. Recently, the use of drugs for the immune system seems promising, but studies are still ongoing.
Finally, in about half of all miscarriage cases, no underlying cause can be found. We are trying to find causes of miscarriage so that we can prevent miscarriages related to them in the next pregnancies.

Experiencing a miscarriage, causes a terrible feeling of loss and sadness. However, besure that most of the woman or couple who has had a miscarriage have a healthy baby eventually.

Dr Aslı Vural Sesver, MD